BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

MASSENA – Massena School will not move forward with plans to use stop-arm cameras on school buses following advice from the school district’s attorney.

According to Superintendent Pat Brady the attorney recommended the school not purchase the cameras.

Although local law enforcement supports the idea, the school attorney said the current law regarding stop-arm cameras requires an inter-municipal agreement between the district and the local municipality.

Essentially the school board was told that the municipality has to purchase the camera rather than the districts because the local police agencies want ownership of the video.

School officials said the police don’t want the video footage to be the district’s and then have the district turn it over to law enforcement for “legal reasons.”

The district had hoped to get cameras for new buses that would be attached to the stop signs that pop out when the bus is stopped. Cameras would videotape any vehicles that pass when the bus is stopped picking up or dropping off kids.

On March 19, Brady said there is a system in New York State where a municipality pays for the cameras, and a local law enforcement agency stores the footage.

He noted that according to the district’s transportation director, it’s not a very effective arrangement and there aren’t many local governments that have the funds to purchase and facilitate storage of the cameras and video.

The videos were estimated to cost about $1,000 and could be covered by state and school aid.

It was unclear from the discussion if an alternative arrangement may be discussed where the municipalities would purchase the cameras. However, that could be further complicated by the fact that Massena’s school district includes portions of multiple towns.